


ice cream and roller rinks

by lemon_boy



Category: Love Simon (2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Almost Kiss, First Kiss, Fluff, I love my boys, I'm sorry if this is bad, Multi, Pan Garrett, Roller rink, Sharing Clothes, This is mostly just my two favs been dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 08:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15262956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemon_boy/pseuds/lemon_boy
Summary: Garrett hadn't really known Cal Price before. Yes, they sat at the same lunch table, they had most of the same friends but they didn't ever talk. Nevertheless, he still found himself adoring him. When the chance came to finally be his friend he took it.





	ice cream and roller rinks

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This ship needs a lot more recognition than it gets so I decided to put my two cents in. I hope you enjoy.

Garrett had started noticing the signs last year.

He remembers sitting through all the performances of Oliver just because Bram wanted to see his crush. Garrett hadn’t really thought why he had said yes to him. At first, he thought he went because he wanted to see Abby. Then, he thought he went to be a good friend. But once Bram and Simon started dating and Cal Price started hanging out with them more he finally realized why he went.

Garrett had noticed back when the musical had ended and the crew came out he did have to admit that he couldn’t take his eyes off of Cal Price. He started making every excuse he could to justify why he was staring. Most of them were crack shit.

A year later Garrett was still looking at Cal Price like he was the moon. He did try and get over him. It kind of worked but it wasn’t a long-term solution. Leah had run off and fell in love with Abby and now he was stuck with the fact that he might be in love with Cal Price.

Bram was the first person to know of Garrett’s crush on Cal. He had been talking about Simon and Garrett just this wave of confidence and told him. At first, he looked a little taken aback but then once the shock passed, Bram pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. 

Now, whenever Cal would sit by Garrett Bram would smile at him like he had done when Simon had sat by Bram before they started dating. It was almost comforting? Like everything had worked out for them so maybe it would work out for him too. 

Today was the first day of summer and the whole gang had decided to go out for ice cream. All the couples sat at there own tables talking and sharing ice creams. 

Some of the couples had asked if he wanted to sit with them. Garrett once sat with Bram and Simon and they just made lovey eyes the whole time so he decided to never sit with one of the couples again.

Garrett was seated near the small stand with a classic vanilla cone in his hand. He watched as the couples chatted. Leah was playing with Abby’s hand and smiling like she had just won the lottery. It kind of pained him to see them. He actually did have a crush on her.

Garrett felt a tap on his shoulder and it almost made him jump straight off of the bench. A familiar laugh came from behind him and he turned around. “Is this seat taken?” Cal asked, pointing to the empty space beside him.

“No uh, of course not. You can have it,” Garrett said. He turned himself back around so he was watching the couples again. Cal walked around the bench and sat right next to him.

“Don’t you just hate watching them? Like I’m happy and all but it kind of makes me feel bad.” Cal crossed his legs. 

“Aren’t you and Nora dating?” Garrett asked.

“We were but, it didn’t really work out,” Cal said, looking down at his ice cream. He looked sad. 

Garrett put his hand on Cal’s shoulder. “I’m sorry dude,” he said. Why the fuck did he say dude? Only fuck boys say dude. He is not a fuck boy.

Cal smiled and put his hand on Garrett’s. All of his problems melted away and all he could think about at the time was him. The way that he bit the inside of his lip when he smiled. The way he just sort of had this gravitational pull to him which caused anyone who sat next to him almost ended up on his lap. The way his hair looked when the sun hit it just right. He could look at Cal for hours and still not ceased to be amazed.

“You alright there?” Cal waved his hand in front of Garrett’s face. He quickly pulled his hand off of his shoulder. 

“Yeah, I’m fine, sorry,” Garrett muttered. He faced the happy couples once again. Cal scooted a little closer to him, something he would have thought strange if Bram hadn’t been one of those guys who need to be always touching someone. 

“You don’t have to apologize.” Cal started to eat his ice cream again. He knocked his knee against Garrett’s. A slight blush crept to Garrett’s checks. He bit his lip, about to say something but, decided against it and continued to eat his ice cream. 

~~~

That day when Cal and Garrett sat together and ate their ice cream was the day that Garrett would consider the start of their friendship. They both got over the sort of awkward start and actually had a nice conversation after that. 

Now, Cal and Garrett hung out quite often. They would go to that ice cream stand as much as they could and sit on that bench and tell stories. They would go to the mall and just walk around, not buying anything just walking and talking. They would just hang out at one of the two’s home and watch movies. All the while Cal would be as close to him as possible.

Of course, this didn’t really help with Garrett’s crush but he didn’t care. He dismissed most of the touching as platonic. He did like touching a lot more than Bram though. He would sometimes even hold his hand, which, quite frankly, made Garrett lose his mind.

Garrett hated to admit this but, he felt as if Cal would be the first person he called if there was ever really big new. Bram had been trying to spend every waking moment with Simon and he hadn’t seen him in a while. He, of course, would still call him but, it would probably be after Cal.

Cal had randomly stopped by and asked if Garrett was free which he was and asked if he wanted to go roller skating. He had said yes and now he was sitting in Cal’s car driving to a roller rink in the pouring rain. 

Garrett had gone roller skating maybe once in his life. Shit, he was nervous. He didn’t want to make a fool out of himself in front of Cal but then again maybe he would fall into his arms and a slow song would start playing and they would kiss and be happy.

When Cal pulled into the parking lot and Garrett let out a nervous sigh. “Have you ever been roller skating?” Cal asked.

“Once,” Garrett said, “When I was really young.” Cal grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze then got out of the car. His face turned a bright red. He ran his fingers through his hair and got out of the car.

Cal led Garrett into the building. He could see couples holding hands and skating next to each other and families teaching the young one to skate while the older one tried going backward. 

Cal was talking with the lady at the counter when he pulled a twenty out of his back pocket. Garrett put his hand on Cal’s. “Is it really that much for one person?” he whispered.

“No, it’s ten per person,” Cal said, handing the lady the money.

“Then why did you give her a twenty?”

“Are you really that dumb? I’m paying for you.” Cal nudged Garrett. He felt butterflies in his stomach.

“You don’t have to do that, I have my wallet on me.”

“Garrett,” Cal grabbed Garrett’s arm. “I’m paying for you and that’s final.” He swallowed and nodded his head. He almost kissed him right then and there.

The lady at the counter gave Cal two little slips of paper. He grabbed Garrett’s hand and led him to another counter where a guy who looked about their age was leaning against the counter halfway asleep. “What size shoe do you have?” he leaned over and whispered.

“13,” Garrett said. Cal was still holding his hand. 

“Shit, your feet are big.”

“Or your feet are just small.” Cal smacked Garrett’s arm and knocked on the counter. The guy jumped up and looked over at them.

“Hey Cal, it’s been a while, whatcha need?” the guy asked.

“I’ll need a size 13 skate and a skate in my size as well,” Cal said. The guy nodded and turned around to get the shoes.

“He knows your name?” Garrett whispered. 

“Yeah, I come here a lot when I’m not hanging with you,” Cal whispered back. He leaned his head on Garrett’s shoulder.

The guy turned back around and placed two pairs of roller skates in front of them. “Need your tickets man,” he said and Cal gave him the two slips of paper. Garrett grabbed the bigger pair of skates and he grabbed his.

Cal brought Garrett over to a booth. He sat down and took off his shoes and quickly put his skates on. 

Garrett, on the other hand, had no idea what he was doing. He had taken his shoes off and sat down and that was about it. His right foot was halfway in the skate when Cal leaned down in front of him and started to help him get his skates on. 

Garrett had gone red again. He could hear his heart beating. When Cal got up he grabbed his hands and helped him up out of the booth. 

Cal grabbed the table to steady both of them. When Garrett had stopped moving his feet so frantically, he tried to push himself off the table and fell instantly.

Cal started to laugh. He covered his mouth to try and not draw attention to poor Garrett but people were already looking at him like he was an idiot. “I’m sorry,” he said through laughs.

Garrett rolled his eyes and tried to get up. Each time was unsuccessful but with each failure, he got a little closer to getting up. After Cal stopped laughing he skated around him and pulled him up.

“You know I’ve never seen anybody fall on the carpet before.” Cal grabbed Garrett's hand and skated to the edge of the rink.

“Aren’t you impressed?” Garrett asked. Cal’s laugh filled the building. “What?”

“It’s just.” Cal’s laughter died down a little. “All roller rinks have carpet because the actual rink is a lot more slippery. You’re gonna die.” Garrett playfully hit him on the arm.

“So can we go now?”

“Promise you’ll hold onto me so I don’t have to deal with you trying to get up.”

“Promise.” They both go onto the floor and Garrett doesn’t fall. Well, he almost does but he’s holding onto Cal so tight it might break his arm.

“I’m gonna start pulling you along is that okay?” Cal asked. Garrett nodded and almost had a panic attack when he turned around and started skating backward.

Garrett was so afraid Cal would fall that he didn’t even notice he was moving. He started to move to the music that was playing over the loudspeaker. “I don't want you to fall,” Garrett said in attempts to make him stop.

“I’m fine Garrett. I’ve done this before.” Cal started doing some fancy shit with his feet.

“You could still fall.”

“And if I fall you’ll fall with me. Don’t worry I’ll be like a pillow so you’ll be fine and dandy.”

Garrett shook his head and rolled his eyes. He reluctantly started to shake his shoulders. Cal smiled and started getting more into the music. 

A few songs passed with them like that when ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ started playing. Cal’s eyes light up and he started singing. Garrett smiled at him and rolled his eyes again.

“Why do you know all the lyrics to this song?” Garrett asked.

Cal looked a little taken aback. “Doesn’t everyone know all the lyrics?”

“Not me!”

“Sure. I bet you used to know them. Back from the days when rickrolling was still a thing.”

“I knew them back then but not anymore. I’m asking why you still know them.”

“I like the song okay?” Cal said. Garrett started laughing so hard tears were pricking his eyes. He pulled Cal closer into an almost hug.

Cal pulled Garrett back onto the rug. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Cal pulled back a little and looked over Garrett with a blank expression. He bit his lip and muttered something to himself. Then he started to lean in.

Garrett’s heart stopped. He didn’t move, he didn’t breathe, he didn’t do anything. Cal got closer and closer and he felt his hand on his check. He swallowed and started to lean in too when Cal swiped his hand away.

Cal looked down. “You had something on your check,” he muttered. The song changed and the lights dimmed. The guy from behind the counter said something about it being blackout, Garrett wasn’t really paying attention.

The only thing Garrett could think of at the moment was Cal wasn’t going to kiss him. Of course, he wasn’t going to kiss him. Why would he do that? Cal pulled Garrett back onto the rink. 

~~~

It was past eight by now. They had left and were now sitting out in Cal’s car. Just sitting there, not saying a word. The silence was comfortable though.

“Is it okay if I spend the night at your house?” Cal asked. Garrett nodded his head. He thanked him and started the car. 

Cal started driving. He turned the radio up and it was playing some indie rock band that was talking about how much the world is screwed. 

Once they got to Garrett’s house they at first just sat in the car again, not saying anything. “Is it okay if I borrow some of your clothes?” Cal asked and looked over at Garrett.

“Of course,” Garrett said. In all honesty, he loved seeing Cal in his clothes he would never say no to that.

Cal nodded and got out of the car. Garrett got out and he grabbed his arm. He unlocked the door and let them both in. “Thanks for letting me stay,” he said.

“You’re always welcome here.” Cal leaned his head on Garrett’s shoulder again. They walked upstairs into his room.

Garrett threw Cal a shirt and pants and grabbed his own as well. “I’ll uh, change in the bathroom,” he said and left his room.

Garrett changed quickly and looked into the bathroom mirror. He splashed water on his face and left the bathroom. He knocked on the door to his room. “Are you decent?” he asked Cal.

“Yeah, I’m fine. You can come in,” Cal yelled from the other side of the door. Garrett walked in and saw him sitting on the bed in one of his Georgia Tech t-shirts and his orange flannel bottoms.

Garrett stood in the doorway just looking at Cal. He leaned against the doorframe just looking him up and down, smiling. “You wanna watch a movie or something?” he asked.

“Yeah. What movie?” Cal asked.

“How about ‘Happy Gilmore’?” Garrett asked and jumped onto the bed. He turned to face Cal and crossed his legs.

“We’ve already watched that. I want something new.” Cal brushed a stray piece of hair out of Garrett’s face. 

“How about the new Star Wars movie?” Garrett asked, scooting closer to Cal.

“I haven’t seen the other ones,” Cal said. Garrett hit his knee. He smiled and grabbed his hand.

Garrett went starry-eyed. He had a sudden burst of confidence. “Fuck it,” he whispered and leaned in. When they kissed he felt like time stopped for them. There was no longer the sound of passing cars, no more anything besides them. He wrapped his arms around Cal’s waist and pulled him as close possible. He kissed back and ran his fingers through Garrett’s hair. 

Garrett pulled back and rested his forehead against Cal’s. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” he whispered.

“Really now?” Cal played with Garrett’s hair and closed his eyes.

“Remember when the school put on Oliver?”

“Yeah, that was the year with Blue and Bram and Simon getting together.”

“Well, I sat through every performance of Oliver because Bram wanted to see his crush. I would have never done it but, my brain subsonically gave me a reason? I don’t know, I’m terrible at science. At first, I thought it was because I thought Abby-or any girl in that production for that matter-was cute, and don’t get me wrong Abby is cute, then the last performance when the crew came out I couldn’t take my eyes off of you and I tried to make up every straight excuse there was and they were all crack shit. Then you started hanging out with us more and I started realizing there was no straight reason for me to be thinking about you like that. 

I tried to imagine me and a guy having a life together to make sure that this wasn’t some kind of weird man crush. I could. I told Bram about my crush and he was the most supportive friend ever. He kept trying to get me to just come out and say that I liked you, to your face but I couldn’t I’ve been trying for forever.” Cal smiled and pulled Garrett in for a hug. 

“Jesus Garrett, two years? God, I honestly just started liking you as more than a friend.”

“Like before or after we had ice cream together on the first day of summer?”

“After.” Garrett nodded his head and pulled back from the hug. He leaned in to kiss Cal again and moved his hands from his hips to around his neck. He gave him a quick peck and then Cal pulled him in for a real kiss.

Garrett smelt a faint hint of cheese pizza and new shoes. A sent he wouldn’t have recognized if they hadn’t gone roller skating. He smiled into the kiss and Cal pulled back. “What’re you smiling about?”

“You go to that roller rink a lot.” Garrett ruffled the back of Cal’s hair.

“Why do you say that?”

“You smell like it.” Cal chuckled and pulled Garrett in for another kiss. It was more of a peck this time.

When they parted Cal grabbed the remote from Garrett's nightstand. "As much as I love kissing you." he put his head on his shoulder, "I really want to watch a movie."

Garrett nodded his head and grabbed the remote. "We can finally watch gay movies together," he said, turning on the TV.

"Why couldn't we watch them before?" Cal asked. Garrett shrugged. "Can we watch Dead Poets Society? I haven't seen that before"

"It's a gay movie," Garrett said and pressed played. 

"It's 10x better then." Cal latched onto Garrett like a koala. They sat like that for the rest of the night. They didn't move until the next morning when Garrett's mom came to wake them up.


End file.
